Oh, procrastination. It gets such a bad rap (and many times it is well-deserved)! But when I think about some of my greatest procrastinating moments, I see the gifts that it has brought me.
I had a job as a music coordinator at my church. It was a part-time position that only took 15 -20 hours a month. After a couple of years, I started procrastinating on scheduling the musicians. I was burned out and started to feel overwhelmed with all of the extra work along with committees, family commitments, and my full-time job. In reality, creating a schedule took 1 - 1.5 hours. By procrastinating, scheduling took an enormous amount of time because I was always thinking about it.
I started listening to what my procrastination was telling me, and I realized the message was clear: it was time to let go of my leadership role. I still have a music role, but it is 2 - 3 hours a month and takes up much less space in my thoughts. Procrastination helped me give up something that was no longer serving me, and that I was no longer serving well.
Another gift that procrastination has given me is the gift of determining what is essential. This year, I decorated for Christmas, and in preparation brought out some plastic containers of Christmas ornaments and decorations. As I decorated, I thought about all of the additional plastic containers that are in my attic and how I should really go through those and donate stuff I don't use. My 5-minute task of putting away the containers became hours and hours of work in the midst of the busiest month of the year.
I realized that the essential task that I needed to do, however, was just to put the plastic containers away. Will I need to go through all of the Christmas decorations at some point? Yes, I will. For now, it is good enough. And that is a great gift!
What gifts has procrastination brought you?